School of Americas Connection to Honduras coup

Coup in Honduras the narcosphere:

"The crisis in Honduras began when the military refused to distribute ballot boxes for the opinion poll in a new Constitution. President Zelaya fired the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Romeo Orlando Vasquez Velasquez, who refused to step down. The heads of all branches of the Honduran armed forces quit in solidarity with Vasquez. Vasquez, however, refused to step down, bolstered by support in Congress and a Supreme Court ruling that reinstated him. Vasquez remains in control of the armed forces.

Vasquez, along with other military leaders, graduated from the United States' infamous School of the Americas (SOA). According to a School of the Americas Watch database compiled from information obtained from the US government, Vasquez studied in the SOA at least twice: once in 1976 and again in 1984."

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See related coverage at School of Americas Watch > http://www.soaw.org/

School of Americas Connection to Honduras coup

Coup in Honduras the narcosphere:

"The crisis in Honduras began when the military refused to distribute ballot boxes for the opinion poll in a new Constitution. President Zelaya fired the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Romeo Orlando Vasquez Velasquez, who refused to step down. The heads of all branches of the Honduran armed forces quit in solidarity with Vasquez. Vasquez, however, refused to step down, bolstered by support in Congress and a Supreme Court ruling that reinstated him. Vasquez remains in control of the armed forces.

Vasquez, along with other military leaders, graduated from the United States' infamous School of the Americas (SOA). According to a School of the Americas Watch database compiled from information obtained from the US government, Vasquez studied in the SOA at least twice: once in 1976 and again in 1984."

Read rest of article

See related coverage at School of Americas Watch > http://www.soaw.org/

New Frontiers in Military to Military Conversion

Not to worry -- apparently there's plenty of jobs to be had in producing OTHER TYPES OF MILITARY AIRCRAFT. Oh brother.

Wonk Room » F-22: Won’t Win Wars, Won’t Preserve Jobs:

"A year ago the industry was worried about huge labor shortages. Shutting down the Raptor line would see thousands of workers snapped up for active production lines churning out F-16s, F-35s, C-130s and modernized C-5s for Lockheed, not to mention the prospect that industry rivals Boeing and Northrop might lure Lockheed workers for their own active production lines for the F-15, F/A-18 and others.

Even in the New Depression, the U.S. has the world’s biggest and most diverse aerospace industry. Trimming a few dozen aircraft from one production line, and shuttering that line a few years early, will not put nearly 100,000 people out of work."

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War bill to benefit P&W, Sikorsky- The New Haven Register - Serving Greater New Haven, CT

Speaking of regional dependence on military spending...

War bill to benefit P&W, Sikorsky- The New Haven Register - Serving Greater New Haven, CT:

"Donald Klepper-Smith, chief economist and director of research for DataCore Partners in New Haven and chairman of Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s Council of Economic Advisors, said the funding will “make a big difference” for keeping jobs in the state, of which 2,500 are connected to F-22 engine production.

“To the degree that we can preserve manufacturing jobs, particularly when it comes to the F-22s, it’s going to be good for the state economy,” Klepper-Smith said."

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We Don’t Need the F-22

Editorial - We Don’t Need the F-22 - NYTimes.com:

"Lockheed Martin and its partners parceled out work on the plane widely to ensure maximum political protection. And we deeply regret that jobs will be lost by phasing out the F-22. But the United States cannot keep paying for redundant and dubious systems. There are too many other compelling demands on the country’s battered budget — some of which will certainly create new jobs. It is up to House Democratic leaders to make this case to their members and ensure that the committee’s decision on the F-22 is overturned."

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Insurance claims mount for paramilitary fighters, insurance companies pocket the profits

Wars test limits of law requiring insurance for overseas contractors (6/19/09) -- www.GovernmentExecutive.com:

"Between 2003 and 2007, an average of 11,000 civilian contractors annually filed injury claims with the Labor Department under the Defense Base Act, Fay said. Total payments for health care and benefits related to these claims rose fourteenfold during the first four years of the Iraq war, to more than $170 million annually, he said.

But, profits for insurance carriers also have skyrocked. Subcommittee investigators found that since the wars began insurers have collected more than $1.5 billion in premiums under the Defense Base Act -- all paid by taxpayers -- but paid out only $900 million in benefits.

'The single biggest cause of these failures is the insurance carriers' practice of seeking to profit in every way possible from our fight for national survival instead of becoming part of the forces united against our enemies,' said Timothy Newman, a former DynCorp contractor who lost his leg when an improvised explosive device detonated in Iraq.

Other injured contractors testified that insurance carriers refused to pay for treatment, medication and surgeries despite orders from the Labor Department or judges.

'We demand that we receive the care that was promised us and we deserve,' said Kevin Smith, a former truck driver for the Defense contractor KBR who was severely injured in Baghdad in 2004 when his convoy was ambushed by insurgents and was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. 'We are not asking for ... [extravagant] bonuses, or lavish parties or even parades. We just want what we are entitled to under the Defense Base Act like medical care, disability pay and retraining if necessary.'"

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DynCorp gets Blackwater's service contracts for U.S. diplomats in Iraq

DynCorp gets Blackwater's service contracts for U.S. diplomats in Iraq:

"The State Department has contracted DynCorp International to provide aviation and support services in Iraq. Under the award, DynCorp would replace the former Blackwater, which was the only major U.S. security contractor with an aviation fleet in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East.

'This award is a tremendously important opportunity for DynCorp International to support the safety and security of U.S. diplomatic personnel serving in Iraq,' DynCorp International chief executive officer William Ballhaus said.

In May 2009, DynCorp replaced Blackwater as the leading security contractor for the State Department. Blackwater, responsible for aviation services as well, was banned from operating in Iraq in wake of the prosecution of six former security officers linked to a shootout in Baghdad in 2007 in which 16 civilians were killed."